More on What You Need

My friend Larry, aka Eclectrix, had commented on the What You Need entry, and made some points that I think it makes sense to address.

1. Windows XP Professional (XP Pro) is the way to go. Windows XP Home Edition has been hobbled. I agree -- Get XP Pro. Software companies put their best efforts into the business versions of their software, and tend to "dumb-down" their consumer versions.

2. He mentioned an issue with Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) in which "Microsoft is trying to take too much control of the machine or something." Frankly, I think that you are going to run Microsoft software, or not. If you are, you need to trust them to a certain degree. SP2 is such a significant upgrade that it is required if you are to run XP. If you don't want to run Windows XP, get an Apple or go full-on techno-nerd and go Linux.

3. He has an issue with Automatic Updates being Automatic. Sometimes an update breaks something. I full agree with him on that, which is why I mentioned that a fully funded Information Technology department should review updates prior to distributing them. That is their function. To review all releases prior to applying them is a full-time job, and takes up a lot of attention. The average non-technical user really can't do this, and will not do this. So, if the updates are not automatic, the updates will not get done, and their computer is in grave danger of being hacked. This is not good. So, unless you are a professional, do not try this at home. Just turn on the auto-update.

What You Need

In order to use a computer and the Internet, you need to understand a couple of things:

1. You can't do it "on the cheap" unless you are a severe nerd (or at least have nerdish tendencies) and can build your own.

2. You need to know that the Internet is made up of the best and worst of mankind (see posting on the Internet), and that you must armor up accordingly.

3. Computers are not "there" yet. It is still too hard to use these things. You can own and drive a car without ever opening the hood, or having the foggiest clue about whether the thing runs on gasoline, diesel, hydrogen, or electricity. But, a computer -- that's a different matter.

4. If a computer, therefore, ever crashes (stops working, locks up, freezes, chokes, whatever), it is fundamentally not your fault. It is the fault of the system designers who designed the programs you are running, and the programmers that wrote them. (This, of course, presupposes that you are not dunking the computer in water, or using it for target practice - tempting though that may be).

5. A computer virus is a program that some twerp wrote (or stole) that propagates itself from one computer to another, and usually does some damaging thing to the computers it infests. It does this, usually, by exploiting programming errors and bugs in operating systems (Microsoft Windows, really), e-mail clients (Microsoft Outlook), desktop applications (Microsoft Internet Explorer and Microsoft Office), and database servers (Microsoft SQL Server. You might see a trend, here). It can also do this by exploiting the generally open and trusting internet protocols.

6. You can mitigate against errant code and malicious viruses by setting up your computer system appropriately.

With these basic maxims in mind, what do you need?

First, you need to decide if you want to use Microsoft Windows or an Apple Macintosh. Uncle Mark does not really "do" Apples (I like them, but I am not an expert), so we will talk Windows here. You can also choose Linux, but if you choose that (at least at this writing), then you don't need me to tell you what to do. If you don't know, you'll never get it running. So, Windows it is.

Rule 1: Run Windows XP, Service Pack 2 or later. Just do it. If you have Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows NT, realize that they are obsolete. Windows 2000 is okay, but Windows XP is better. If you have Windows XP but it is not Service Pack 2, upgrade now. How do you know? Open up "My Documents" and go to the Help menu, and choose "About Windows." If it doesn't say somewhere in there "Windows XP" and "Service Pack 2", you need to get upgraded.

Rule 2: If you have a computer that cannot run Windows XP, it is time to retire it. If your computer is four years old or older, it is time to let go. Basically, almost any new computer that you can buy for $800 or more will do.

Rule 3: Get DSL or Cable or Satellite if you can. This is called "Broadband." Dial-up, i.e. using a modem, is slow.

Rule 4: Use a DSL/Cable router to connect to the DSL or Cable modem, rather than have the modem connect directly to your PC.

Rule 5: Always, always, always have a firewall in place. A "firewall" is a piece of communications software that runs on your PC, your DSL/Cable modem, or on a separate "appliance" that inspects, monitors, and outright prevents unwanted internet traffic from hitting your computer. Absolutely required. Windows XP has a firewall built-in. Windows XP Service Pack 2 has it turned on when you install it.

Rule 6: Always, always, always have virus control software in place on all your computers. Some firewalls have virus checking built-in.

Rule 7: Always, always, always have your virus control software check for updates daily.

Rule 8: Have Windows Automatic Updates check for updates daily, and automatically install them. Unless you have a business with a nice, fat Information Technology budget and network administrators to spare, you don't need to test the update first. Just assume that if Microsoft releases a bug fix (which is what these are, really), then you need to install it. You should know that the minute Microsoft announces a bug in Windows or one of its other programs, lowlife virus writers kick to life (if you can call something that low "life") and race to create a virus that exploits that bug. The update fixes the problem, so stymie these guys, and install the update. To do this, go to the Control Panel and then load the Security Center, and choose Automatic Updates.

Rule 9: Keep all your other software updated, as well. If you have Microsoft Office, or Quicken, or other programs, keep up to date with them.

Rule 10: Limit your use of software that is free but advertises to you. Some of these have trackers that track your use of the internet, and some just plain take over your system. These are called "Adware," for Advertising Software, and "Spyware," for software that spies on you. Microsoft has a new anti-spyware application in beta that helps get rid of some of these. There is also Ad-aware and Spybot. For really effective spyware killing, you need to run all three. And even then, unfortunately, some spyware can survive the onslaught.

Rule 11 (Some might call this rule 1): Always back up your data. Back up your documents and other data files to CD regularly. You need to have a CD writer on your computer. This is required. You don't necessarily need to back up your applications, unless you downloaded them and don't have installation CDs.

That's enough rules for now. This is an awful lot all at once, and some will need elaboration (which virus software, for example). Do the above, and your computer will be armored.

How do I comment on an Ask Uncle Mark Entry?

"Stymied" from Pasadena asks: "How do I comment on a post on your blog?"

Well, Stymied, here's what you do: the number of comments made on an entry is located at the end of of the entry. If you click on it, you will be taken to the "comment" area. To post a comment, click on the "Post a comment" link.

I do not allow anonymous comments to this blog. There is a class of low-life called "spammers" that looks for random blogs, and post "comments" that are unrelated, and are really advertisements. So, I ask that if you wish to comment, you join Blogger, which is the friendly service that makes this blog available to you. If you are not a member, join up.

Then, comment away!

Alternatively, you can e-mail me at AskUncleMark @ gmail.com